AFG and SAFER..

Call to Action on FIRE and SAFER Grants
Please Ask Your Members of Congress to Pass FIRE-SAFER Legislation

Fairfax, Va., Nov. 28, 2012- As Congress winds down for the year, it has yet to pass legislation to reauthorize the FIRE and SAFER Grant programs. A compromise agreement has been reached by the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The IAFC has prepared a brief that summarizes this agreement (pdf).

Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) are offering this FIRE-SAFER reauthorization compromise bill as an amendment to legislation that must pass Congress before the end of the year. Their amendment may be considered on the Senate floor this week.

Please ask your senators to vote for the Lieberman-Collins-Carper-Brown amendment.

This legislation will also need to pass the House of Representatives. So, please contact your representative and ask him or her to support passage of the FIRE-SAFER reauthorization bill this year, too.

The IAFC has letters you can download and send to your members of Congress.

If you call your members of Congress, please be sure to highlight:

How the FIRE and SAFER Grant programs have helped your department.
FIRE and SAFER grant applications are reviewed by experienced firefighters using a merit-based system.
FIRE and SAFER grants are awarded directly to local fire departments to improve their all-hazards emergency response.
FIRE and SAFER grants require local communities to contribute a match to ensure accountability.

Because this Congress ends in December, this is our last opportunity to reauthorize the FIRE and SAFER Grant programs.